FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an external appearance of a related art portable multimedia device. Referring to this figure, a case 1 is generally shaped as a flat hexahedron to form an external appearance of the multimedia device. The case 1 has relatively large front and rear surfaces. The front surface of the case 1 is provided with a display unit 3. The display unit 3 is a portion on which information on the operation of the multimedia device or images produced upon execution of multimedia files are displayed.
A lower portion of the front surface of the case 1 which corresponds to a position below the display unit 3 is provided with a jog button 5. The jog button 5 may be used to perform a desired control according to the moving directions and amounts of the jog button 5 and to perform another desired control when pushed in a state where the jog button 5 is stationarily positioned at the exact center thereof.
A plurality of push buttons 7 are provided on a side surface of the case 1. The push buttons 7 have their respective specific functions. For example, the push buttons can perform the functions of turning on/off of the power, changing the operating mode, and the like. A plurality of connecting jacks 9 are provided on an upper surface of the case 1. The multimedia device can be connected with external devices through the connecting jacks 9. For example, an earphone, a microphone, a remote controller, etc. can be connected with the respective connecting jacks 9.
The related art portable multimedia device so configured is used in such a manner that a user grasps the multimedia device with one hand to operate the jog button 5 or the push buttons 7. In general, the thumb of the right hand of the user is positioned on the front surface of the case 1 to operate the jog button 5, the index finger is used to operate the push buttons 7 provided on the side surface of the case 1, and the remaining three fingers and a portion of the palm are used to grasp the case 1.
However, the related art portable multimedia device as described above has the following problems.
First, if the thumb is used to operate the jog button 5 and the index finger is used to operate the push buttons 7 positioned on the side surface, the remaining three fingers and a portion of the palm should be used to hold and grasp the case 1. Therefore, since the multimedia device cannot be stably held and grasped, the multimedia device may be dropped during the operation and thus be damaged.
In order to solve the problem, in a state where the remaining four fingers except the thumb and the palm are used to hold and grasp the case 1, only the thumb should be moved to operate both the jog button 5 and the push buttons 7. However, there is an inconvenience in that it takes a lot of time to perform such an operation due to a long operating path of the thumb.
Further, since the jog button 5 and the push buttons 7 are individually installed as described above, there is a manufacturing inconvenience in that components of the buttons 5 and 7 should be separately designed and the assembling processes should also be separately performed.